An Adventure Into Darkness
by Fellowship.of.Fangirls
Summary: River didnt expect to find adventure with a criminal...The most wanted criminal on Earth for that matter, Khan Noonien Singh.
1. Chapter 1: SS Botany Bay

Chapter 1

London is always busy at this time of day, the sun is just setting and the sky is a brilliant orange. River was walking down the street daydreaming about adventures which she always longed for. Star Fleet was exciting and all, but it didnt satisfy the need for adventure that she always craved even as a child.

"Excuse me!" River said quietly after being run into (rudely) by a very tall man in a long, gray trench coat. The man immediately caught her eye, he stood out in the crowed, almost like he didnt belong in London. Or on Earth for that matter. He was running, running with determination to an unknown object in the distance. He was so caught up in his mission that he didnt even notice that River was right behind him running after him. She was determined to find out more about this mysterious man.

After running for a good 10 minutes the man stopped to take a breath. This gave River time to think about what she was doing. "__River you idiot, why would you follow a strange man through out London just because he was interesting?" __The strange man started running again, and this time, from someone. Star Fleet Officers. "__Now there is no way im letting him get away" __Once again she was on his tail, running with passion towards the adventure that awaited her.

River took a sharp right turn into a dark alley, and gasped at what stood before her. The S.S Botany Bay. River immediately realized who she was following. Khan Noonien Singh. He was all over the news, how he was captured by Captain Kirk, but escaped after stealing Admiral Marcus's ship. He was never caught, or spotted. But there he was running right into his ship with Star Fleet Officers not to far behind him, but he didnt seem to care or notice for that matter. River ran after him and sneaked onto his ship. __"This is insane! Why hasnt he noticed that I am following him. Why am I even following him for that matter?"__ The doors of the S.S Botany Bay shut behind her. Khan ran down the dark halls of his ship not even realizing who was on his ship. River gasped as she realized she was stuck on a ship, with Khan the most wanted criminal around. Little did she know of the adventures that waited for her upon the Botany Bay.


	2. Chapter 2: Prisoner

Chapter 2

The S.S Botany Bay was a large vessel, made specifically for battles and traveling long distances. River walked quietly down the long dark narrow halls waiting to run into Khan. "__He is going to find you and kill you! You need to hide and fast!"__ She turned down one of the many halls and walked into a large room full of computers and old cryotubes that looked empty. River looked around, taking it all in, the sound of the computers and machinery, the smell of the metal, and the chill in the air. She turned around and let out a scream of terror. She was face to face with Khan.

She tried to run and hide, hide anywhere, as long as she was away from Khan. The man who could crush your skull with out a thought, who killed with no regret. He grabbed he shoulders and whipped her around before she could even blink. River looked up at him slowly. He has hair as dark as night, and eyes the color of the sea with sparks of gold and green flakes. He looked as though he was made of marble. His eyes pierced down at her with disgusted. How could a human like her gotten on to his ship without him noticing. "__He is going to kill me. Right here, right now" __River thought to herself.

"What...Are you doing on my ship?" Khan asked with a deep growl.

"I..I...saw you running, you uh ran into me in London. I just wanted to see where you were going! I...Oh gosh please dont kill me."

River flinched as Khan raised his hand. He slicked back a piece of his jet black hair that had fallen in front of his face_. ___"I cant just kill her____" __He thought __"She is fast, its unusual for a human girl to be able to keep up with me, she must be strong. She would do well taking the serum. I could use someone to keep this ship in order. Or I could kill her now" __He looked at the woman in front of him with disgust. He never liked humans, even if he was like them at one time. They were weak. Emotions got the better of them. But she was beautiful he must admit. She was petite with long brown hair all the way down to her waist. She was in a blue Star Fleet dress. So she had some experience around a ship. Only seconds had passed before he responded.

"I will spare you. But you are now my prisoner. Unless you want to die, which can easily be arranged. No one sneaks onto my ship and gets away with it." He said matter of factly.

"Ill do what ever you ask." River responded trying her best to hold back tears. She wanted to go on an adventure, but she never planned on being a prison upon the S.S Botany Bay.


	3. Chapter 3: Passengers

Chapter 3

"This is your room...uhh. Whats your name. Or do you prefer that I continue to refer to you as Prisoner?" Khan asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he showed River to her "room"

" Uh...River... just River" She looked around what Khan called a "room." it was more of a prison chamber. Its was a small, perfectly square room with cement floors and walls. A small bed with thin sheets was in the corner of the room next to a small table with a lamp. There was a door leading to a bathroom that was nothing but a small sink and toilet.

"Well __Just River, __this is where you will sleep. You will be required to wake up at 5:30 every morning to check on the ships machinery and clean anything that isnt in perfect condition. You will eat breakfast with me at 7:00 and then you will train with me. I need to make sure you can defend yourself, I dont want to have to constantly take care of you if we ever need to get supplies on Earth. You will be required to be in your room at 8:00 pm immediately. the ship is programmed to go into lock down around that time so you are required to go into your room" Khan said without even stopping to take a breath. He then beckoned River to walk into her chambers to sleep. Not expecting a response.

"Uhh okay?" River said, trying to remember everything Khan just said. She turned around to ask how she was going to shower, but Khan had already left.

River got little to no sleep. She couldnt help but have nightmares of what the day was going to hold. "__Training? With Khan? Im going to die..." __the doors to her roomed opened automatically. Khan walked into her room, it was 5:25. He handed River a black version of her Star Fleet uniform that she was wearing.

"This is what you are required to wear. After breakfast there will be a set of workout clothes for you to wear." He said sounding slightly annoyed with the fact that he had to plan a wardrobe for this __human.__

"So when do I get to meet the rest of the crew?' River immediately regretted asking this. Khans face grew dark with revenge and hatred at being reminded of his missing crew.

"We are the only ones aboard this ship" He growled back.

"What happened to the rest of them?"

"Its 5:30. Get to work" And with that he disappeared down the hall, leaving River to wonder why she and Khan were the only passengers on this ship.


	4. Chapter 4: Off Limits

Chapter 4

Cleaning the ship was a lot easier than River expected, the ship was kept in a neat manner. Everything had its place and all the machinery was up to date. _What am I going to do until 7:30? _River thought to herself. It had just turned 6:00. She decided to take a walk down the long narrow corridors of the ship, hoping she wouldn't run into Khan. _What were in those cryotubes? Where is the rest of his crew? _She took a right down the closest hallway, trying to remember the route she took when she found the cryotubes the first time. The engine of the ship blared as the jumped into warp drive. River grabbed on to the nearest railing, her only experience with warp drive was during her Star Fleet test, and she had only taken that a few weeks before. _Why do we have to go so dang fast? _ After many twist and turns and getting lost a number of times, she found the large room full of cryotubes. The air still smelled of metal and had a frosty chill in the air. She walked over to the nearest tube. It was empty.

"What was in here?" River said, thinking out loud.

"_What _are you doing in here?!" Khan yelled, causing River to spin around almost running into him.

"Im sorry, I just saw the tubes and wondered-"

"Get out. Don't enter this room again, this area is off limits" He replied with a growl.

River ran out of the room full of fear. _How am I going to get through this day?_

Breakfast was quiet, and River didn't like it. She moved her scrambled eggs around on her plate, she was not in the mood to eat, she had lost her appetite after her encounter with Khan and the cryotubes.

"Eat." Khan said sounding slightly annoyed, "You will need the energy for training this morning"

"Uhh okay, sorry..." River replied, not making eye contact. _Training... _ River thought to herself. If the training was anything like the training she received at Star Fleet it shouldn't be to hard. But this was Khan. She doubted it would be as easy as lifting a few weights and running a mile or two on a treadmill.

"Go change into your workout clothes," Khan announced, "We start in 10 minutes."


	5. Chapter 5: Training

Chapter 5

"Harder! You have to punch harder!" Khan yelled. River punched the bag as hard as she could, Khan had been pushing her for the past 2 hours, running more miles than she could count, more situps than she thought she could ever do, and now punching bags. Khan was able to do the whole training process without breaking a sweat. _"What is he, a machine?" _ River couldn't help but feel like Khan was watching her every move, even while he was doing his own workout routing. It was hard to focus when his piercing blue eyes followed her every movement. He was very attractive, in a weird way. _"You can't think like that! He is a criminal, he has killed millions!" _ But River couldn't help but blush every time Khan put his hand on her torso to demonstrate the way she should stand, or how she should flex whenever she kicked or punched. Finally after many hours of training, when River could take no more she yelled

"Stop! I cant do anymore, im not a machine like you! I need a break."

Khan looked over at River, sweaty,red, looking as though she was going to pass out right on the spot. _"Stupid humans, constantly needing to take a break." _Khan thought to himself. But he didn't want to break her completely.

"Fine. That's all we will do for the day, but it will not get any easier. Your human body is weak. That needs to change. We will train twice as long tomorrow, no complaining, retire to your room early...What are you doing? Oh gosh there she goes, Ugh."

* * *

><p>The last thing River remembered was Khan mentioning how she was weak and how something needs to change...retiring? Then everything went black, she had passed out due to such a hard training schedule. She expected Khan to just leave her there, but she had awoken in her "room" with no sign of Khan. She sat up but fell back on to her pillow, her head was pounding...she needed some water.<p>

She stumbled down the halls of the ship looking for a kitchen, or something that would provide her with some clean drinking water. She finally found a kitchen like room. Everything was metal with high tech appliances. She wasn't able to make out a drinking fountain, but eventually found a refrigerator with a water jug. She found some metal cups and poured herself a glass. She chugged the ice cold water and immediately felt her headache calm down a bit. She took another sip but ended up choking, Khan had popped up beside her.

"Oh gosh don't faint on me again"

"Well I wouldn't faint, or die from choking if you would stop sneaking up on me!" That was the first time she had ever replied to Khan like that. She began to panic, but was relieved to find out he was smirking.

"Fine, ill try my best. Its very inconvenient for me to carry you through out the ship anyways. Do you think you will be able to make it back to your room without stumbling like your intoxicated?"

"Yes, I think I can manage" River responded with an eye roll.

"Good, get some sleep, training will commence at the same time tomorrow, and no passing out on me again." He said walking away with a deep laugh.

"_Maybe he isn't completely a machine"_


	6. Chapter 6: Safe

Chapter 6

It had been 4 weeks since River had passed out during training with Khan. The training had gotten easier over time, and Khan had warmed up to her. Breakfast weren't so awkward anymore, they had actual conversations through out the day, Khan had even mentioned how he might be able to upgrade her "Room" if she continued to keep up with her training habits. River had almost forgotten that she was a prisoner on the ship.

"I understand that your living quarters are not as comfortable as you would like. You have been doing well for a human of your size with the training course. Keep up the work and I will see what I can do about your room." Khan said not really paying much attention to River as she did her workout routing.

"Really!? That would...be...great" River said through punches. Khan had really warmed up to her this past month, and she liked it. He didn't talk down to her as much anymore and has even mentioned how he needs to make a stop down on a nearby planet for supplies and she might be able to join him. Of course he later mentioned that any attempt to escape would result in her immediate death.

"Okay stop, time to take a break," Khan said finally turning his attention to River who was still punching the bag with all her strength, "Its time for lunch, you can join me in the kitchen or you can dine on your own." He said as he casually left the room.

"_Great im starving" _River thought to herself. She ran into her room and threw on her black uniform that Khan gave her the day she sneaked on to his ship, and headed to the kitchen.

"We are currently back in earths atmosphere, I need supplies. Your welcome to join me. Being the worlds most wanted man can make shopping...difficult." Khan said rolling his eyes.

"And that's were I come in?" River replied with her mouth half full of the grilled chicken Khan cooked only minutes ago.

"Yes. I will give you the money and locations of the shops, you will meet me back at the spot that I drop you off at at exactly 1:30, if you try to escape-"

"You will kill me, crack my skull, I get it. Don't worry I wont be going anywhere. I would miss this grilled chicken to much." River said statistically. Khan rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Get ready, we will beam down in 10 minutes.

* * *

><p>River had almost forgotten what it was like to breath in the fresh air of the earth. The sky was clear and the streets were full of people. River couldn't tell what city they were in but she didn't care, she just wanted to take in all the sights and smells before she had to go back with Khan.<p>

"Meet me back in this alley at 1:30, your first stop should be just down the street. Ill wait for you here. Call me if you need anything." Khan said as he put up the hood of his long gray trench coat, trying not to be seen.

"Okay, seen you then." River walked down the street looking into the windows of all the shops, bakeries full of freshly made bread, clothing stores with the newest fashion (that she was not caught up with) and finally Hyvee. "_Out of all the places to buy food why this place?" _ She thought to herself.

She walked out of Hyvee with her arms full of grocery bags. Her next stop was the machinery store. One of the ships engines were out of date and Khan wouldn't stand for it. Once she was down shopping there, she looked down at her watch. 1:00 . She needed to head back otherwise Khan might start looking for her. She took a left down the closest alley, hoping it would be a short cut. Halfway down the alley she was stopped by 2 grungy looking men.

"Whatchya got there sweetheart?" One of the men said as the other man came up behind her.

River immediately put her training to use and dropped the grocery bags onto the alley floor and punched the man in front of her right in the throat. The man behind her grabbed her and pinned her to the brick wall of the alley. River was not prepared for this, she was small, and both of the men were over 6 feet and were much stronger than her. Suddenly both men were on her checking her pockets for money.

"She doesn't have any money," One of the men said.

"Well...We will just have to make sure we checked _everywhere_" The other man said with an evil laugh. All of a sudden both men were touching River all over, she began to panic "_ Call me if you need anything" _ River remembered Khan saying before she had left. River bit the hand that was covering her mouth that was making sure she couldn't scream.

" Ouch! What the-"

"KHAN!" River yelled as loud as she could, hoping he could hear her...Nothing happened.

River started to cry. Then all of a sudden there was a loud swoosh, like someone had fallen from a building, all of sudden the two men were yanked back, causing River to hit her head on the alley wall and fall down. She looked up to see Khan,he had both men pinned up against the wall hanging in the air by their throats. In a single move he threw one man to the side and slammed the other man into the brick wall. Hard. The man let out a blood curdling scream. Khan let him fall to the floor. River saw a head shaped indent in the wall, she looked at the man lying on the ground. Motionless. Khan started walking towards the other man. Khan had pure hatred in his eye, he was going to kill the other man, just as violently as the first, if not worse.

"Khan, NO!" River yelled, not wanting anymore blood to be shed because of her.

Khan whipped around and faced River, his expression immediately soften, understanding why she was yelling at him. In the 4 months she had been aboard his ship she had always seen the best in him, she didn't treat him like the monster he was.

He walked over to River and picked her up in one gentle motion. River let out a gasp of surprise, she wasn't expecting Khan to carry her back to the ship. Khan looked at the men with hatred one more time before beaming River and himself back aboard the ship.

* * *

><p>Khan set River down gently and looked her over for any injuries.<p>

"Khan, Im sorry I didn't know they were in the alley I-"

"What? River, this isn't your fault. Those men, they deserve to die for what they were going to do to you, I should have killed them right there and then-"

"No. You didn't need to kill them, you saved me. That's all I needed."

River said as she walked over to Khan and put her head on his chest. Surprised, Khan wrapped his arms around her, holding on to what he almost lost only moments ago. River didn't pull away from Khan, he made her feel safe, she wasn't sure how long they stood there. But she didn't care. Nothing else seemed to matter. She was with Khan. She was safe.


End file.
